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What I Learned at Social Media Manager School

December 30, 2013 by Dennis Fischman 3 Comments

Have you heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a social media expert”?  It’s true.  Social media are changing too fast for anyone to know it all.  But Andrea Vahl and Phyllis Khare come close.

Along with a few hundred students from around the world, I enrolled in Andrea and Phyllis’ Social Media Managers School this fall.  They have a wealth of practical experience and they shared as much of it with us as they possibly could.

I learned a lot more than I already knew about:

  • Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest
  • Top tools for managing multiple clients’ posts on multiple social media
  • Analytics you can use to measure what matters
  • Producing webinars and Ebooks
  • Finding clients, online and in person
  • Setting expectations and actually doing the work

I came to the course with a well-developed sense of strategy, the writing skills I needed for content marketing, and long familiarity with social media.  What I knew less about was a) advanced social media tactics and b) running a business.

Phyllis and Andrea took the mystery out of it.  With patience and good humor, they led a varied group of wanna-bes and already-ares through the course.  The Facebook group for participants was a great bonus: there were some days when I learned as much from the other students as I did from the teachers.  That’s a sign of a great course.

If you are interested in managing clients’ social media for a living–or if (like me) you want to add social media management to what you can offer your clients–then you cannot do better than to sign up for the 2014 Social Media Managers School.

Just don’t call yourself an expert.  Let your expertise speak for itself.

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How Small Nonprofits Light Up Social Media

December 16, 2013 by Dennis Fischman 6 Comments

Are you a small nonprofit organization, based in a single community?  Congratulations: you have natural advantages when it comes to social media.

What are your advantages?  The same strengths that social media maven Mark Schaefer sees for small businesses–only more so.

Local angle.  “I could care less about a tweet from a mega-brand,” Schaefer writes, “but I would certainly be interested to get to know a local shop owner in a personal way.” The people you serve, their families, your staff and Board, their families and friends, your city council, your school committee, and all your donors and volunteers are interested in you in real life.  They might be interested in you on Facebook or Twitter, too…but only if you show you’re interested in them.

Personal touch.  As a small nonprofit, you can know more of your supporters personally.  This one is always talking about raising a biracial child.  That one prides herself on her mouthwatering vegetarian recipes.  When you can provide useful information on a subject they care about , your supporters will notice.  (And they will always appreciate a compliment!)

Relationships. Businesses, and large nonprofits, are tempted to look at everything in terms of ROI, Return On Investment.  They miss the intangible results that small nonprofits perceive. If your supporters are telling you, “I loved that picture you posted,” or if they’re sharing information that you put out, or if municipal officials are treating you with more respect, you know you are building loyalty that will help you sooner or later.

Don’t Hide Your Light

“But I don’t know how to use social media,” you say.  “And I don’t have the time.”  You do know how to be social in real life, right?  A good consultant can train you on how to do social online.  A consultant can also help you use your time to best effect, or you can pay him or her to be your online voice.

Is it worth it?  Using social media well means getting closer to the people who matter most to your organization.  Yes, that’s worth doing.  You are ideally positioned to do it.  Go ahead: let your light shine!

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The Tao of Twitter, for Nonprofits

November 25, 2013 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Author Mark W. Schaefer

Mark W. Schaefer, author of The Tao of Twitter

I started tweeting about nonprofit communications a year and a half ago. I would say, “The Tao of Twitter is the book I wish I had read back then,” except that might give you the impression it’s only for beginners. That would be untrue.

The Tao of Twitter is basic in the sense that it focuses on the basis underlying all successful social media–and a lot of life.

1. Targeted connections. “Systematically surround ourselves with people likely to want to know us, learn from us, and help us.”

2. Meaningful content. Write, blog, and tweet for the people you want to reach. Make sure what you say will be important to them.

3. Authentic helpfulness. Don’t sell. Connect. Find ways to help without already seeing (let alone asking for) a favor you can get in return.

One-third of the book elaborates these principles. One-third tells you how to put them into action through Twitter. And one-third tells you how to build on the basics and succeed.

Nonprofit organizations are in an especially good position to practice what Mark Schaefer preaches in The Tao of Twitter.  We may call it outreach, coalition-building, collaboration, or whatever, but acting together with a mission in mind is in the nonprofit DNA. Doing it online is just a natural outgrowth of what we do already.

Nonprofits know a lot about our subject matter, too.  When we write, blog, or tweet in order to be useful to our community, it does more for us and our reputation than if we blow our own horn.  The nifty new name for this approach is content marketing, but it’s how nonprofits have always made our reputation.

So I encourage you to read this slim book, then decide whether Twitter is the right medium for you.  And if it is, tweet me…and Mark.  I’m sure both of us will be happy to hear from you!

 

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